An emaciated Dutch blue pied lovebird was abandoned at the veterinary clinic a friend of mine works at a couple of days ago. We don't have any sort of background information, and this poor little bird (who we've decided to call Lucy) is in rough shape. She's so weak and underweight that she can barely stand, is currently incapable of perching or climbing, and has very few feathers on her back and no tail feathers. My tech friend is currently fostering her, but isn't able to keep Lucy long term. Despite all of that, Lucy is a real spitfire and clearly isn't ready to give up yet! She's eating well, and her stool is normal in appearance. Lucy is currently eating the poor quality seed mix that was left with her, but we'll be transitioning her to a mix of base diet of Harrison's High Potency Super Fine and nutriberries as soon as possible. Lucy hasn't been to an avian vet yet (my friend works with a dog/cat vet), but I'm arranging for her to get looked at sometime within the next week. I want to get her in sooner, but my AV is booked up and I'm unable to manage transport to bring her to the other AV four hours away as I don't drive. Assuming she comes back with a clean bill of health (beyond her obvious poor body condition), I'll be able to more seriously think about the logistics of taking Lucy in. If she's ill, I can probably arrange to have her isolated at the mixed practice I work at until whatever issues are resolved and she's safe to have in proximity to other birds. Due to my living situation I'm unable to isolate or quarantine birds at home - they're all in the same room and I don't have access to additional space. Worst case scenario, I'll start searching for a proper home for the little biddy... I can think of a couple coworkers and clients that might be interested. She's very feisty, and will definitely require someone with a lot of patience and at least a little bird knowledge.

I hope she pulls through... I'm routinely appalled by what people put animals through.

As Lucy began to recover at my friend's house, it became clear that she has a moderate case of spraddle leg and possible neuro damage. She sways around like a drunk sailor, and since she currently lacks tail feathers she has next to no balance. Ive had her in my home for a few days now and let me tell you: she tears around her cage like no one's business and hardly seems slowed down at all! I built her a handicap accessible cage with platforms and soft fleece mats directly under all perches with a series of ladder ramps, and she took to it immediately! Lucy is a big eater, and not very fussy at all; she'll eat Harrison's super fine, Lafeber's Pellet-Berries and Nutri-Berries, and will pick at parrot chop and various leafy greens. Her favorite so far seems to be kale, and She's decided that she really likes seagrass and paper toys. Removing her dishes is proving to be a bit of a challenge as they aren't really accessible from the outside of the cage, but Lucy is easily distracted and happy to direct her aggression on other objects - I.e. a dowel or toy. Food distractions are also acceptable, and Lucy will (somewhat angrily) chew on a honey seed stick or millet while I remove her dishes or clean. I think she'll be a good candidate for target training! She only seems to be concerned about my hands/fingers, as she completely ignored my arm when i was elbow deep in her cage.

Her weight is rapidly nearing normal, and her well-bird exam went well. We did a fecal but couldn't draw enough blood for a full panel. Everything looks alright, and my AV says to keep on doing what I'm doing. Lucy was too stressed to continue by the end of the exam, but we'll be going back to get her beak trimmed shortly (It's considerably overgrown), and possibly give her a mild wing trim as well.

Notice how she was following me around to keep an eye on what I was doing in each picture! I had to be quick before i upset her too much. She'll only give me a little time around her cage before she starts to growl and click her beak, though just a few days later she's much more relaxed.

I know tents can promote hormonal activity, and I'll remove it if/when it becomes a problem. Lucy was much calmer about me taking her bowls when she was in her tent, and seems to feel more secure in it.

I've discovered that Lucy will allow me to pick her up and move her if I hold out a little tea towel to her. She pretty much instantly goes under or on the towel, and stays put while i scoop her up. I initially planned on trying to stick train her, but with her balance issues this seems to be more comfortable and safer for her. She's not nearly as defensive as long as she can't see my hands, and largely stops posturing. Lucy receives a bit of millet for her trouble, and it's been much easier (and less stressful for both of us!) to change her dishes and clean while she's hanging out in her carrier!

What ever works for both of you is great. I know other people that use towels for transport in a positive way. My vet only moves her african grey on a towel. She also has balance issues due to her feet.

Lucy had two grand mal seizures today lasting about a minute and a half each, one at home and one at the clinic in the exam room. Judging by the pattern of her missing/broken feathers, the stained feathers around one of her nostrils, her behaviour when she was first abandoned, and her overall lack of coordination, my AV strongly suspects previous head trauma to be the culprit. It likely occured not long before Lucy was given up. My friend had not noticed any seizure activity during Lucy's stay and this is the first time I've witnessed it. She had been growing in new feathers around her tail which have since been destroyed by the seizure, so i feel that this is a new development.

I'd like to have cranial/cervical rads taken, but my A/V has cautioned me that they're difficult to take and even more difficult to interpret anything concrete from, so for now I'm holding off and observing. She was given a vitamin booster just in case, since she was on a poor diet for an undetermined time, and I took home some injectable diazepam. Lucy's exhausted and weak, and She's even more wobbly than usual, but hopefully she'll perk up by tomorrow. If not, we'll get bloodwork done - the only reason I didn't insist on it today was due to her seizing during the exam. Here's to hoping it was a one time thing!

Bad luck comes in threes, I guess. First Ben, then Monty, then Lucy with the health issues

I'm sorry that Lucy is having so many issues right now. Seizures are so very hard on them. Did the vet check her heart and cholesterol? An amazon that I fostered developed seizures but it went undiagnosed for too long. Ended up being heart disease from a life of a bad diet.

I don't believe my AV did too much of an in depth exam - between Lucy seizing and an emergency coming in she was a bit pressed for time. I'll mention it to her, though! I wonder if we could stick the ultrasound probe on Lucy and take a look at things? She's probably too high strung to tolerate that without sedation, mind. We'll start with blood work and go from there.

Lucy's looking much better now, and is eating, drinking, and playing with her toys. She has a more in depth diagnostics appointment on Tuesday, so until then I'll keep her quiet and watch her closely. Hopefully it's a one off and there won't be any additional activity in the mean time.

She's putting up a brave front and acting almost normally (though fluffier and more wobbly than usual) if she thinks I'm watching her, but as soon as she thinks I'm not she's very fluffed up and lethargic. My AV isn't working today, but I have a bad feeling about leaving Lucy at home alone. I'm not sure what's worse - stressing her by bringing her to work with me for monitoring, or leaving her at home with no one to keep an eye on her. I'll probably compromise and check on her during my break. I'm not sure what the best way forward is.

I had an awful hunch that Lucy wasn't okay when I went to work, and ended up taking an early break to go check on her. My gut feeling was correct. Lucy was flat in her cage, and I honestly thought she was dead until I went to pick her up. I brought her back with me to the clinic for monitoring, planning to call my AV's personal phone, but the second I went to place her in the incubator Lucy started to seize and crash. Even with the diazepam I was prescribed Lucy wouldn't come out of it and after nearly 3 minutes of two back to back seizures she went rigid. She was barely breathing at this point, had no muscle control, and was barely aware of her surroundings. I couldn't let her suffer any more, and had her humanely euthanized. A brain bleed is the suspected cause of death, and I'm considering having a necropsy performed and having a histopath sent out (particularly if it was some sort f progressive neurological disease), but I'm not sure if I could cut her up like that. I'll make sure to do a full decontamination clean of her living space.

I'm sorry Lucy. I wish we could have been friends before you were gone, and I hope your last weeks were comfortable. You were loved.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Lucy was lucky to have you. You were there when she needed you most and giving her the freedom to leave when she was ready. One of the hardest things we can do for our loved ones.